Upper Salmon River Steelhead Fishing Report 5.13.22
By angelamontana

Posted: May 14, 2022

Hi all, 

I’ve got a few calls and emails from some of you so far, wondering how the Chinook return is looking for Sawtooth and Pahsimeroi hatcheries, so I thought I’d send out a quick update. It’s still a bit early in the run, but we’re seeing PIT tags from both Sawtooth and Pahsimeroi adults crossing over Bonneville Dam. We’re probably a little over a third of the way through for Sawtooth and only about 10% so far into the Pahsimeroi run. We generally hit the 50% mark of Sawtooth fish over Bonneville around May 19th, and Pahsimeroi fish around June 8th (see graph below)– so the next couple of weeks will be crucial, and will certainly give us a much better picture of where we stand.

What we’re seeing so far is pretty encouraging – like a lot of the other returns to Idaho, fish are coming in at or above the pre-season forecast.  Our pre-season forecast indicated we should have a small surplus of fish for harvest at Sawtooth, but that we’d just be meeting our broodstock need at Pahsimeroi. Currently, Sawtooth is tracking pretty close to the pre-season forecast, and for at least right now, Pahsimeroi is looking like it will come in a little stronger than expected, so potentially some fishery options down there as well. So what that means for us is that there’s a pretty good potential for some type of fishery in the upper Salmon River, but it will take a bit more info before we can determine the ‘what and where’ of that fishery. We’ll continue to watch the returns over the next couple of weeks, and then make any season proposals to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in early June. I’ll continue to provide weekly updates as we get closer to early June.

Thanks all and have a great weekend,

Greg Schoby | Idaho Fish and Game

 

Greg Schoby

Regional Fisheries Manager

Idaho Department of Fish and Ga

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